Server-Based Audio Personalization for Hearing Profile Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for personalizing audio signals to match a user's ideal or desired hearing require substantial processing power, leading to decreased battery life, complex user devices, high costs, and CPU loads, especially during audio streaming, and often necessitate carrying a hearing aid that can be stigmatizing and uncomfortable.
Innovation Solution
Shifting the processing unit from the user's device to a server or communications network, where the personalized audio signal is processed and broadcast, eliminating the need for local processing and reducing the burden on user devices while using the user's device as a hearing aid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If audio signal processing is performed locally on the user's device to match the user's hearing profile, then personalized audio output is achieved, but battery life decreases and CPU loads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the computationally intensive audio signal processing function from the user's local device and relocates it to a remote server. The server receives the user's hearing profile and the audio content, performs the personalized processing, and transmits the processed audio back to the user's device. This extraction eliminates the need for local processing power, thereby preserving battery life while maintaining personalized audio output accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a communication network as an intermediary between the user's device and the processing server. This intermediary enables the transfer of audio data, hearing profiles, and processed signals without requiring local processing capabilities on the user's device. The network acts as a mediator that facilitates personalized audio delivery while offloading computational burden from the user's device.
2Measurement precision
If audio signal processing is performed locally on the user's device to match the user's hearing profile, then personalized audio output is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex audio processing algorithms and hearing profile analysis functions from the user's device and relocates them to a remote server. This extraction simplifies the user's device by removing the need for sophisticated processing hardware and software, while still enabling personalized audio output through the server's computational resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal server infrastructure that can serve multiple users with different hearing profiles and device types. Instead of requiring each user's device to have specialized processing capabilities, the server provides a multi-functional processing platform that adapts to various users and devices, thereby reducing individual device complexity while maintaining personalization accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If a separate hearing aid device is used to process audio signals, then personalized audio is achieved, but user comfort decreases due to additional weight and stigmatization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the hearing aid functionality with the user's existing audio playback device (such as a smartphone, tablet, or media player). Instead of requiring a separate hearing aid device, the processing capabilities are integrated into the device the user already carries and uses for audio playback. This merging eliminates the need for additional hardware in or on the ear, improving comfort and reducing stigmatization while maintaining personalized audio processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the user's existing audio device to serve dual purposes: both as a general-purpose media player and as a personalized hearing aid. By making the device multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for a separate dedicated hearing aid device, thereby improving user comfort and reducing stigmatization while maintaining accurate hearing profile matching through server-based processing.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for personalizing the audio signal of an audio or video stream, comprising:sending the audio or video stream from a server to a client over a communications network,processing the audio signal by means of a processing unit to match an optimal hearing profile of a user listening to the audio at the client,characterized in that the processing unit is arranged at the server or in the communications network, between the server and the client.